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ANTHRO

ANTHRO 245A:Evolutionary Theory in Archaeology

The ability of scientific evolutionary theory to explain human behavior as represented in the archaeological record. Past attempts to apply evolutionary theory in archaeology are compared to more recent Darwinian efforts, as are current evolutionary approaches to human behavior in related fields. The ontological underpinnings and methodological requirements of a Darwinian archaeology and its potential contribution to archaeology as an explanatory system. (HEF I)

ANTHRO 247:Nature, Culture, Heritage (ANTHRO 147)

Seminar. Shared histories of natural and cultural heritage and their subsequent trajectories into the present. How thought about archaeological sites and natural landscapes have undergone transformations due to factors including indigenous rights, green politics, and international tourism. The development of key ideas including conservation, wilderness, sustainability, indigenous knowledge, non-renewability and diversity. Case studies draw on cultural and natural sites from Africa, the Americas and Australia.

Heritage is always political, it is typically said. Such a statement might refer to the everyday politics of local stakeholder interests on one end of the spectrum, or the volatile politics of destruction and erasure of heritage during conflict, on the other. If heritage is always political then one might expect that the workings of World Heritage might be especially fraught given the international dimension. In particular, the intergovernmental system of UNESCO World Heritage must navigate the inherent tension between state sovereignty and nationalist interests and the wider concerns of a universal regime. The World Heritage List has over 1000 properties has many such contentious examples, including sites in Iraq, Mali, Syria, Crimea, Palestine and Cambodia. As an organization UNESCO was born of war with an explicit mission to end global conflict and help the world rebuild materially and morally, but has found it¿s own history increasingly entwined with that of international politics and violence.

Terms: Win
| Units: 5

2017-2018 Winter

One of the most generative regions for medical anthropology inquiry in recent years has been Asia. This seminar is designed to introduce upper division undergraduates and graduate students to the methodological hurdles, representational challenges, and intellectual rewards of investigating the intersections of health, politics, and culture in contemporary China.

ANTHRO 249:South Asia: History, People, Politics (ANTHRO 149)

The South Asian subcontinent (comprising of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka) is one of the most diverse and densely populated regions in the world and increasingly prominent in new global political and cultural economies. South Asia has also provided the inspiration for cutting edge theories about the colonial state, postcolonial studies, democracy, popular culture, and religious conflict. The course will provide an overview of major historical events and social trends in contemporary South Asia and focus on themes such as gender, religion, caste, migration and movement, new technologies, the urban and rural, the state, and new forms of consumption among others.Thus, the course will give students historically and theoretically informed perspectives on contemporary South Asia, as well as how to apply insights learned to larger debates within the political and social sciences.

Last offered: Spring 2014

ANTHRO 250:The Ordinary: The History of a Concept (ANTHRO 150)

The ordinary has today acquired something like a cultic status in contemporary culture. `Ordinary¿ citizens are the touchstone and essence of political democracy; the holy grail of effective marketing, the byword for earthy ethical judgment. In social science, the ordinary has blended in with the `normal¿ and the statistical mean. In Anthropology, ordinary life has all but replaced `cultural practice¿ as the epistemic gold standard of evidence. But this was not always so, and the ordinary has many, varied and contradictory meanings across the world.nThis course will (a) trace the historical emergence of the ordinary as a central ideological and metaphysical concept in modern thought and practice; (b) trace how the ordinary and the everyday have acquired unprecedented authority in anthropology; (3) trace the varies meanings and connotations of `the ordinary¿ in different socio-historical contexts from Asia, Africa and Euro-America.nThe literature will consist of ethnographies, and works of philosophical and historical scholarship.

An overview of social issues in contemporary China as seen through its emerging independent documentary film movement. Topics covered include representations of history, political power and accountability in the reform era, human rights, urbanization, the environment, homelessness and inequality, sexualities, addiction, and the role of media in society. Each viewing is accompanied by readings in media theory or the anthropological/sociological study of contemporary China. Can be taken with or without research component. Films include English subtitles.

This course examines the significant role ¿drugs¿ play in shaping expressions of the self and social life; in the management populations, and in the production of markets and inequality. It engages these themes through cultural representations of drugs and drug use, analyses of scientific discourse, and social theory. Topics include: the social construction of the licit and illicit; the shifting boundaries of deviance, disease and pleasure; and the relationship between local markets and global wars.

ANTHRO 255:Research Methods in Ecological Anthropology (ANTHRO 155)

The course prepare students for the methodological and practical aspects of doing ecologically oriented, quantitative anthropological field research. The primary goal is to explore what it means to ask anthropological questions in a systematic way. We will focus on understanding what can constitute an interesting question, how to frame a question in way that facilitates investigation, and how to design methods to begin investigating a question. In turn, the course will provide a format to refine research projects in preparation for doing more extensive fieldwork.